The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today released an advisory to financial institutions for reporting suspected elder financial exploitation. The document updates the CFPB’s 2016 recommendations for preventing and responding to elder financial abuse, and urges financial institutions to report suspected exploitation to the appropriate local, state and federal authorities. In particular, the bureau recommends filing Suspicious Activity Reports in such cases.
The recommendations reflect a recent study of 180,000 elder financial exploitation SARs that showed an average loss of $41,800 among adults over 70, with 7% losing over $100,000.
As banks continue the fight against elder abuse, the ABA Foundation has compiled a number of resources bankers can use to raise awareness about financial exploitation among older Americans. ABA’s Safe Banking for Seniors program provides free presentation lessons, activities and other materials to educate older Americans and their caregivers about how to bank more securely. FinEdLink connects registered banks with community organizations or agencies to provide banker-led presentations in the community. To learn more, visit aba.com/seniors.
